Electric apparatus for decomposing liquids and its use as a gasoline economizer



Oct. 27, 1953 R. H. P. DEVAUX 2,656,824

ELECTRIC APPARATUS FOR DECOMPOSING LIQUIDS AND ITS USE AS GASOLINEECONOMIZERS filed Aug. ll, 1949 5 Sheets-Sheet l l l l /k m i@ I A n #y1 EV I .Z'iv vE/vr-oR RIV/Www /I'P .Devaux .B/f Sdn, w, www

Oct. 27, 1953 R. H. P. DEVAUX l 2,656,824

ELECTRIC APPARATUS FOR DECOMPOSING LIQUIDS AND ITS USE AS GASOLINEECONOMIZERS Filed Aug. l1, 1949 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Iv vsn/Tol? Ray/wow M73.De-VAUX Arrow/nrs Oct. 27, 1953 R. H. P. DEVAUX 2,656,824

ELECTRIC APPARATUS RoR DEcoMPosING LIQUIDS AND ITs USE As GASOLINEEcoNoMIzERs 'filed Aug. 11, 1949 5 sheets-Sheet 5 Eff -P//Grzf Y3` AsaZ-/v Vwv'oR Rm/Mn Ma 19.7? DE vaux n /.RMQMMQM rroR/vsys Patented Oct.27, 1953 UNi'i-ED STATES ATENTI OFFICE ELECTRIC APPARATUS FORDECOMPOSING. LIQUIDS AND ITS USE' AS A GASOLINE ECONOIWJZER Raymond H;P. Devaux, Tangier; Tangier Application August 11, 1949, Serial No.109,798 In France March. 22,. 1949 (Cl. 12S- 25) s paratuses generallyusing a gaseous or atomized fuel, and more particularly for feeding alltypes of internal combustion engines and reaction jet engines in whichVit gives an appreciably increased eiiiciency or, which is the same,enables, for a'- samel power provided by ther engine, to reduce in averyimportant :Way the fuel consumption, and more particularly the gasolineconsumption.

constant.. Another object" is to provideV an apparatus for decomposingliquids maintained in suspension as fine globules in a gas, for instanceWater in. suspension in air,i by means of electric sparks dying in themixture of gas and liquid globules, said deviceV adjusting automaticallythe number of sparks to the volume of liquid to be decomposed. When theapparatus is used for feeding an engine and when the brokenA up liquidis Water; no oxidizing corrosion ofthe engine parts in contact with thefuel mixture It has already been tried to inject or vaporize water inthe fuel mixture of. internal combustion engines in order to: improvethe combustion of thev mixture. However, in spite of its advantages,this. process has been given up because of the corrosions andoxidationswhich are produced by the fuel mixture, particularly on thevalves. and cylinder-heads'.

It has also been tried to ionize the fuelV mixtures or the components(air and fuel) of these mixturesv either through high frequency electricdischarges, either through vacuum-tubes. or apparatuses generatingultraviolet rays.

Finally it` has. also been suggested to ozonize the oxygen of the airwhich is. a. part of the fuel mixture in. order te improve thecombustion of this mixture in theY engine, and to. reduce the lossesthrough unburnt fuel, consequently to increase the efficiency.

The various known apparatuses using the ionizing and ozonizing processesare costly, fragile and practically imaiective,v because they aregenerallyV provided for aV rated load of the engine and cannot followthe.V variations of the load. by means of a correspending4 adjustment ofionizing or ozonizing. In fact, in these. apparatuses the production ofvsparks or the intensity of the electric dischargesv is constant, Whilethe volume of the mixture or gas which passes through the apparatuses`varies as a :function of the load of the. engine.y

An object of this invention is to providey a process and a-napparatusyenabi-ing to break up into its components aV liquid maintainedinsuspension as fine globules in a gas, for instance Water in suspensionin air, by means of. electric sparks, the latter being producedv as afunction of the gas now passing throughV the apparatusvin suchv a mannerthat. the composition of. the mixture atv the outlet is substantiallycontaining the Water injected through theY apparatus is observed,whichseems to prove that the apparatus has entirely broken up the Waterintroduced into the mixture.

A further object is to provide a sparkA gap for producing electricsparks flying in a uid flow passing through said'. spark gap', in whichthe number of sparks is self-adjusting: to the volume of fluid ofsaidfloW'.

According to the invention, the apparatus comprises a j'et for atomizingthe liquid, located in such a Way that the globules of that liquidmaintained in suspension in the gas flow are carriedv along towards aspark gap comprising one or more stationary electrodes and at least onerotaryv electrode rotating in front of` the stationary electrode orelectrodes, at a speed substantially in direct ratio with that ofthegasr flow, said electrodes being connected to a high voltage source, thedistance between the stationaryA electrodes and the rotary electrode orelectrodes being such that, a spark flies between them When` the rotaryelectrode passes in front of. one stationary electrode.

The rotating electrode may be conveniently the metal rotor ofi anair-screw fan rotating the axis of a. cylinder, through which passes thegas maintaining; the liquid n Suspension and rotatively driving saidroton the inclination of the blades of the latter determining therotation direction and. speed. of said air-screw for a` known speed ofthe gas.- i'low corresponding to a predetermined' suction at the end ofthe cylinder.A

In, the present description, and claims the term.v "rotor of anair-screw fan will he-designated by air-screw The. number of. sparksdying, between the rotating. electrode and the stationary electrodes,sparks which perform the decomposition. of the liquid globulesr is a.function of the number ot times the rotating electrode passes in frontof the stationary electrodes, that is of the rotation speed.. of thatelectrode, which isv mainfi in direct ratio with the speed oi the gashow, that is with the volume of gas passing through the apparatus.Consequently when the apparatus is adjusted for a predetermined rate ofworking it is substantially adjusted for all rates of working and itsehiciency is about constant.

The electric insulation of the apparatus will be made in such a mannerthat no explosive difference of potential may occur at any moment at anyother point besides the points located between the electrodes of thespark gap, and the leakage lines of the insulating materials will besuch that the sparks will ily only at the predetermined points.

The gases produced by the decomposition of the liquid, that is hydrogenand oxygen in the case of water, are diiused in the gas flow as soon asthey are produced and carried along in the tained substantially fuelmixture whose quality is thus improved. Bef1 sides, a small quantity ofozone may be simultaneously produced because of the electric silentdischarges which occur when the distance between the rotating electrodeand the stationary electrodes exceeds the explosive distance. This ozoneis also produced in direct ratio with the gas flow passing through theapparatus in such a manner that such ratio is substantially constant,which ensures a proper analysis of the fuel mixture at all working ratesof the engine.

The apparatus may be located at any point of the inlet-tubing, eitherup-stream or downstream with respect to the carburetor or mixer, orbefore or after the compressor or supercharger if the considered enginecomprises one of these devices, a pipe connecting the atomizing jet tothe tank containing the liquid.

lt will be preferable to provide an anti-flame device before or afterthe spark gap, or simultaneously at both these locations, in order toprevent the fuel gas from igniting through the sparks fiying between theelectrodes of the spark gap.

it will be convenient to make the anti-name device with metal parallelplates, which will be near enough to prevent the propagation of a iiame,and these conducting plates may be alternately insulated to form twoarmature condensers on which may be applied a difference of potentialsubstantially lower than that making the sparks ny. This device is notonly an excellent anti-flame device but also an electrostaticprecipitator which is able to retain the liquid globules which are notdissociated or gasified.

The spark gap may be fed by means of any I source of electric hightension current, for instance, on an automobile, by means of an induction coil fed through the battery and having a proper breaker or buzzerinserted.

In an improved embodiment of the invention, the electric circuitproducing the sparks is fed by two sources having different voltages,one having a higher voltage than the other but only capable ofsupplying, at all rates of working, a

current of small magnitude in view of producing a spark between theelectrodes of 4the spark gap, the other having a lower voltage butcapable of producing, above a certain speed of the engine, a spark of ahigher current magnitude in the gases ionised by the rst spark, andconsequently capable to achieve a more complete decomposition of theliquid. It will be convenient to form these two sources of electriccurrent by means of two separate coils of a transformer and, in ordernotto discharge the battery too rapidly the current fi necessary forfeeding said transformer will come direct from the dynamo. In that way,at the 10W rates or' working, when the voltage given by the dynamo isnot su'licient for attracting the armature of the cut-out switch andcharging the battery, the necessary energy will be provided only by thedynamo. Furthermore, the energy used for decomposing the liquid will bethus a function of the voltage of the dynamo, consequently of the speedofV the gas ow sucked in by the engine.

In order to obtain a proper delivery of the liquid to the atomizer, apipe may be provided for putting under pressure the tank which containsthe liquid, for instance by using the exhaust gas a part of which isthus recycled. Advantageously this pipe may be arranged so that thepressure in the tank falls under the atmospheric pressure in case of asudden fall of the speed of the engine, the liquid being .thenimmediately sucked into the tank. For that purpose, the atomizer maycomprise an appropriate nozzle, set perpendicular to the atomizing jet,receiving the exhaust gas by means of a branched pipe connected to thepipe transferring the exhaust pressure to the tank of liquid.

Finally, in order to avoid the apparatus being ilooded in case of anuntimely ilow of liquid, a slope will be provided in the apparatus so asto carry along towards the outside the liquid which could spill.

When mounting an apparatus according to the invention on an alreadyexisting engine, it is observed that the power of the latter is muchimproved. It is of course possible to avoid change o the initial powerof the considered engine through reducing the cross-section of thenozzle of the fuel outlet (jet) while keeping an optimum cross-sectionat the air inlet (choke). For lthe same power and with the apparatusaccording to the invention, a very important decrease, which may reach50% of the fuel consumption, may be obtained with an additionalconsumption of water.

Other objects and advantages `of the invention will be apparent duringthe course of the following description. In the accompanying drawingforming a part of this application and in which like numerals areemployed to designate like parts throughout the same,

Figure l is a longitudinal section of an embodiment of the apparatus.

Figure 2 is a vertical section taken on line II-II of Figure 4,

Figure 3 is a transverse section taken on line III-III of Figure 1,

Figure 4 is a detailed view of Figure 1 showingr on a higher scale thearrangement of the spark gap and atomizing nozzle,

Figure 5 is a diagram of the electric circuits of an apparatus using twovoltages.

Figure 6 is a plan view of an arrangement of the electrodes of a sparkgap using two voltages, the air-screw being shown in section. v

Figure '7 is a diagram showing the arrangement of the pipes connectingthe tank of liquid tothe apparatus and to the exhaust pipe of theengine,

Figure 8 is a longitudinal vertical section of a modification of theinside arrangement of the apparatus,

Figure 9 is a vertical section of the connection enabling to connect thepipes of the apparatus to the exhaust of the engine.

In the embodiment shown in the drawing, the apparatus comprises a deviceI for dissociating a liquid mounted' a horizontal chamber Ib providedwith a flange 2 enabling to secure the apparatus immediately to the airintake of the carburetor, in place of' the conventional air nlter ofinternaI combustion engineor at the take of anaires'upercharger the caseof adirect injection engine or a reaction jet engine.

The chamber Ib is connected, through a slanting duct 3 whichprogressively widens out, to ar ltrating device of any type. In thedrawing there is shown a filter automatically carrying the dust away',made of consecutive rows of little plates having the shape of troughs Itslanting in the direction of the air passing through (shown by arrow F)and arranged to form bail'ies (Figure 3). The ends of the troughs i passslightly beyond the lower wall of the air inlet choke-tube 5 which hassuch a transverse section that the losses of head. resulting from thetroughs do not exceed at full rate a predetermined value.

The lower wall of the horizontal chamber Ib is made of an insulatingplate Ic which supports a cylinder tunnel or tube 6 of insulatingmaterial provided at the front and at the rear with deflectors 5a and 6bfor leading into the cylinder a part of the air flow sucked by theengine and sending to the rear side of chamber It the mixture of air anddecomposed liquid.

Inside cylinder 6 there is disposed the liquid atomizer inade of avertical tube 'i secured to the plate la whose upper end is providedwith a small diameter jet 8' substantially located in the axis ofcylinder 6. The tube 'l is connected through a pipe (not shown) to thetank containing the liquid to be decomposed which is located at a properaltitude. The atomizing of the liquid is made in the known way by meansof the underpressure produced in the jet through the passage of theaspiring air stream which passes through the tunnel E, and the globulesof liquid form an atomizing cone shown with dots and dashes in Figure 4having as an apex the jet 8.

The shaft of the air-screw 8 which. forms the rotating electrode of thespark gap is mounted along the axis of cylinder 6 and this air-screw isset in such a manner that its transverse medial plane is substantiallymerged with the plane of the base of the atomizing cone (Figure 4) Theair-screw 9 freely rotates on its shaft Il) maintained by any suitablemeans in. an insulating seat Ii and said shaft is electrically connectedto a terminal I2 secured to the insulating plate la. Metal studs I3, I4,I5 and I6 (Figure 2) made of nickel for instance, are secured to theinternal wall of cylinder 6- or conveniently sunk into that wall so asto be flush with the inside surface, in such a manner that their axesare located in the transverse medial plane of airscrew e. They are allelectrically connected to a terminal I l also secured to plate Ia.

Downstream with respect to the cylinder tunnel 6 is the anti-llamedevice made of parallel, metal plates I8, I9 which are near enough toprevent a flame ignited on one side of the device passing on the otherside but allow the air and the gases issuing from the dissociated Waterfreely to pass. As `it is shown in Figure 1, the even plates I8 will beconveniently insulated and electrically connected to a terminal 20, andthe odd plates I3 grounded. When applying a suitable tension between theearth and the terminal 2G, the anti-name device will then act as anelectrostatic precipitator, and complete the action of the precipitatortroughs 4, so thatY the air and gas entering thevcarburetor areperfectly cleaned.

The 'operation of this apparatus is as follows:

A stiflcient Voltage is applied betweenv the infsulated terminals IZ and|11, for' instance through connecting these terminals by means ofinsulated wires 2f and 22 to the' two poles of a high voltage induction`coildistinct from the ignition coil and the gas flow is generated forinstance through starting the engine,` such a marmer thaty air- 9rotates at a; speed which is a function of the' speed of said gas) flow.Whenv the screw blades are' in front of studs I3 to I, a spark flies'between each one of these studs andthe edge of the'A correspondingblade, but when this blade has passed beyond this stud and not still infront of the iollc'rw'i1-igstud, the distancev separating the electrodeshaving' different polarities is too great and! no spark flies.Consequently the number of sparks which may fly' between the distinctelectrodes-is a function of the rotation speed of air-Screw 9 whichitself is a function of the speed of the gas flow and thus of theworking rate of the engine.V Y

The-suction produced through the engine the cylinder 6 whichy produces,through the jet l?, the atomiz'ing of the water' to be decomposed, isalso a function of theworking rate of the engine, in such aV manner thatthe How of atomized water and the number of sparks produced fordecomposing that Water follow automatically the present needsY whileremaining in a ratio which does: not vary much.

,The globules of water which are submitted to the centrifugal forcesgenerated by the fast rotation of the screw are hurled towards theperiphery of cylinder 6/ and almost all of them are included in thegaseous How submitted to the action of the sparks, which ensures aproper decomposition of the liquid. The produced gases, hydrogen andoxygen, are swiftly carried along throughl the' air' current whichpasses through thecyliiider tunnel 6 and are spread in the mass of' airwithout being.` ablev to be recombined under' the actionV ofV thesparks. These gases having ahigh explosive power, are thus included inthe air sucked in by the carburetor and their n'iixture' with said airconsiderably improves the' ca-lorific power of the gaseous mixture. Theresulting increase ofA the engine efflciency makes it possible to reducethe proportioning of thefuel mixture through a decrease of the sectionof the main jet, while keeping the saine power provided by the engine.Asl a result, the gasoline' saving may be as high as 50%, the powernecessary for the production of sparks being provided` by the usualbattery, that is to `say by the engine itself.

Inl Figure 5, the electric circuit of an apparatus having two differenthigh voltage sources has beendiagramm'atically shown, this circuit beingfed by the dynamo 25 which isprovided for charging the' battery 2t andcomprising a cutout switch 2T. The' primary 2.8 of the transformer isconnected to the' dynamo at 25d before the cut-out switch- 27, in suchva manner that the battery' is not used for the working of the apparatus,ari app'ropriatev contact-breaker 29 providing the fast breaks which arenecessary. One of the secondary coilsv 3U of the transformer providesyat the low revolution speeds, a high voltage' anda low current forinstance 15,000 volts and lk to 2 milliaz-nperes, while the othersecondary coil M of the transformer, having heavier wiresiis capable ofsupplying at full rate a currentV of several1 milli-*amperes withk alower voltage, 5000 volts for' instance. The` above by 'thesecon a highcurrent spari: in the ionized gases. The decomposition of the liquid, alarger quantity of which is atomized, is thus more complete.

The apparatus also enables the recovery Without difficulty of the oilvapours which escape through the ports provided for lling up the engine.Each time it has been tried to make such a recovery, the result .hasbeen the sooting of plugs and cylinder heads which required to stop theengine for cleaning. The apparatus enables this recovery Without anydrawback. It is enough to connect the ports through which the oilvapours escape to a point located upstream with respect to the deviceensuring the decomposition of the liquids, or immediately at the inletof the Carburettor. It is then observed, what was unexpected Vin thatcase from the results obtained with the known apparatuses, that nosooting occurs even after a long period of Working having stronglyheated the oil.

The spark gap having ther shape of an airscrew driven at a variablespeed by an air cur- Vrent could be used for other purposes than thedecomposing of liquid globules through an electric spark. It is in facta kind of distributor rotating as a function of the speed of acirculating iiuid and could be used for feeding any other electricdevice. It is here stated that this spark gap itself is a part of theinvention and that the various uses which might be made thereof do notdepart from the scope of the said invention. For instance it would bepossible slightly to increase the distance between the V iistpres.. tthe water tank is r less, consequently the liquid which still iiows tothe atomizer and Which is no longer aspired may flow into the apparatuswhich may be ooded thereby if no precaution is taken.

It is possible to cope with the above difficulties With the help of thedevice shown in Figure 7. In this device the atomizing is achieved bymeans of the combined jet 8 and nozzle 3Q, mounted along the axis oftunnel at a small distance from the jet 8, and connected to the exhaustpipe 35 by means of a pipe 35. The pipe 3l Which puts the liquid tank 38under pressure is branched on pipe 3E, while the jet S is fed withliquid by the pipe 39. W ith said device the unburned fuel, present inthe exhaust gas used for atomizing the liquid., is recycled to theintake of the engine thus causing a further reduction of the fuelconsumption.

It Will be convenient to use for connecting the pipes 36 and 3l theconnection si) shown in Figure 9 which comprises cooling ribs il and twoconnections at right angles 42 and E3. This connection is screwed intothe Wall of the exhaust pipe 35 and enables the connection to be made bydrilling only one hole in exhaust pipe The operation of the device is asfollows: Assuming the engine runs at a high rate, the pressure in thepipe 35 is transferred above the liquid oi tank 33 by means of the pipe3l. A gaseous flow at high speed is started at the outlet of nozzle 3iand the liquid delivered by the pipe to jet S is atomized in theapparatus. When the rate of the engine slows down suddenly, the pressureimmediately slows down in the pipe 36, be-

cause .of .the decrease .of .the pressure .at and of the slight suctionproduced 'by nozzle .34 .immersed ,in a low speed gaseous flow. suctionis transferred ,up .to tank `.38 by the pipe 32h .S0 that .theliquid.contained in the pipe 1351s sucked into the tank.

If it is desired, and morder to avoid the flooding of the apparatus in`case ,of leaks of liquid, means for ,carrying away this liquid to theoutside may be provided. AFor instance an appropriate `basin having anoutlet pipe ,may be designed. Another means .consists in .downwardlyinclining a part lc of the lower wall in the upstream direction as shownin Figure 8, vand providing at the lower part .a hole 'in the wall ofchamber Il. An exit pipe A4 may be secured -in that hole and said pipe,may ibe curved towards lthe rear 'for carryine .the liquid away.

It is to be understood that the lform of my -invention herewith shownand described -is to be taken as a preferred example of the same andthat various changes in the shape, size and -arrangement of parts 'maybe 'resorted to without departing from the .scope of the subjoinedclaims. It would 'be moreparticularly possible to provide severalrotating electrodes mounted end to vend eachone being associated -w-ithstationary electrodes, and ,to bend the blades of the distinctelectrodes in opposite directions lin order Vto give eacjh air-screw adifferent direction of `revolution improving the mixture ofthe gases. Itis -alsoobvious that for lthescrew .of the spark sap oouldbe substitutedany other electrode-rotating at a speed in direct ratio yto thatof .thegas flow.

I claim:

l. A spark 'gap for vproducing electric sparks as a function of thevolume of a :iiuid ow passing through said Snarlfgap vwhich.comprisestwohigh voltage sources, the first one having a higher voltage than theend,and -saidsecond source being capable of -supplying a 4higher currentAthan the said first one source; atleast one electrode connected to saidhigh Voltage sources, said ,e1ectreue made roi an air-screwarrauged andadapted to be freely, rotatively driven through said iluid flow; and atleast two stationary electrodes insulated from one another, angularlyshifted according to the inclination of the blades of said airscrew andconnected to said high voltage sources.

2. In a process for decomposing water carried along in the air ow suckedin by an internal combustion engine the steps of withdrawing a fractionof the exhaust gas flowing from said engine, atomizing water by means ofsaid fraction of exhaust gas to form fine liquid globules, injectingsaid globules into the air flow sucked in by said engine, and submittingsaid globules to the action of electric sparks flying in said air flow,the number of said electric sparks being in direct ratio with the speedof said air flow, whereby the unburned fuel present in said fraction ofexhaust gas is recycled to the intake of said engine.

3. In an apparatus for decomposing in a gaseous iiow, whatever be therate of delivery of said flow, substantially an even proportion of aliquid formed of a combination of elements and contained in a suitabletank, the combination of an atomizer and a high voltage spark gap, saidatomizer comprising a tube of insulating material through which thegaseous current flows and a small diameter jet connected to said liquidtank and radially disposed in said tube with its orice on the axis ofsaid tube; said high voltage spark gap being arranged down-stream withrespect to Vnltage source, a rotating electrode -made of:V a'

metal an-screw freely rotating around a shaft coaxial with said tube,and at least one stationary electrode ,Secured .on .the inner wall ofsaid tube, in iront o f said air-screw .and radially spaced from the`ends of the 'blades of said air-screw a distance at vmost equal to thesparking distance corresponding to the 'voltage of said source andelectric Aconn option s for connecting said-'both electrodes Vto s aidhigh voltage source, whereby the gaseous f l o. w .causes atomizing ofthe liquid as a function of its speed, rotation of said air-screw at aspeed ,substantially in direct ratio with `its ownJ and the; yingbetween said electrodes of a number o f sparks .adjusting itself to therate of delveryofsaidow- 5i. an apparatus for decomposing in a gaseousnow, whatever be the rate -of delivery of said flow, substantially aneienpropoit'ion of 'a liquid formed of a combina-tion of elements andcontained I lfn a suitable tank, the combination of an atomizerandaihish Voltage spark gap, said atomizer comprising a tube ofinsulating material through which the gaseous current flows anda smalldiameter jet connected to said liquid Atank and radially disposed insaid tube with its oriiice on `the `axis pf said tube; said 'highvoltage spark gap being arranged downstream with respect to saidatomizor and Comprising two high voltage sources o f energy, the first-one 'having a 'higher voltage ,than kthe second., and said Secondsource of energy jbeingcapa'ble of supplying a higher current than therst one, a rotating electrode made of `,a metal airscrew freelyvrotating around a shaft `coaxial with said tube, said 'metal air-screwbeing connected Atp one terminal of each of said sources of energyJ vand ajt least two stationary electrodes secured .a short distance one,before the other with respect t0 the direction of lsaid gaseous ilow onthe inner wall ,of said tube, both in front of saidmetalair-screw, andlradially spaced from the ends Aof the blades of said air-screw vadistance at most equal to the spark distance corresponding to thevoltage of said first source of energy, the first of said stationaryelectrodes, closer to said atomizer, being connected to the first sourceof energy having the higher voltage, and the second of said stationaryelectrodes, remote from said atomizer being connected to the secondsource of energy capable of supplying the` higher current; whereby saidgaseous ilow causes atomizing of said liquid and rotation of saidairscrew, and when a blade of said air-screw comes opposite to saidstationary electrodes, a spark flies between said blade and said firststationary electrode, ionizing the gas and causing flying of a highercurrent spark between said blade and said second stationary electrode.

5. In an apparatus as claimed in claim 4 a pair of stationary electrodessecured in front of said air-screw a short distance one before the otherwith respect to the direction of said gaseous ow, flush with the innerwall of said tube and angularly shifted according to the inclination ofthe blades of said air-screw.

6. In an apparatus as claimed in claim 3 the disposition which consistsin locating the radially disposed jet of the liquid atomizer at such adistance from the spark gap that the vaporization cone of the liquid fedto this jet impinges the inner wall of said tube in a plane intersectingsaid air-screw.

7. An apparatus according to claim 3 adapted to feed partially an enginewith the break-up components of water constituting the liquid in theliquid tank, in which said tube is inserted in the air intake pipe ofthe engine, said atomizer further comprising a nozzle arranged along theaxis of said tube up stream with respect to said jet connected to saidliquid tank, and a pipe connecting said nozzle to the exhaust pipe ofsaid engine, whereby a portion of the exhaust gas is used for atomizingthe Water.

8. An apparatus according to claim 3 adapted to feed partially an enginewith the break-up components of water constituting the liquid in theliquid tank, in which said tube is inserted in the air intake pipe ofthe engine, said atomizer further comprising a nozzle arranged along theaxis of said tube up stream with respect to said jet connected to saidliquid tank, a rst pipe connecting said nozzle to the exhaust pipe ofsaid engine, and a second pipe branched to said first pipe connected tosaid water tank.

9. An apparatus according to claim 3 adapted to feed partially an enginewith the break-up components of water constituting the liquid in theliquid tank, in which said tube is inserted in the air intake pipe ofthe engine, said atomizer further comprising a nozzle arranged along theaxis of said tube up stream with respect to said jet connected to saidliquid tank, a first pipe connecting said nozzle to the exhaust pipe ofsaid engine, a second pipe branched to said rst pipe connected to saidliquid tank, and a ribbed connection screwed in the Wall of the exhaustpipe of said engine having two tubings at right angles one with respectto the other for feeding said rst and second pipes.

10. An apparatus according to claim 3, adapted to feed partially anengine with the break-up components of Water constituting the liquid inthe liquid tank, in which said tube is inserted in the air intake pipehorizontally disposed of the engine, said tube having at least a portionof its wall slightly inclined with respect to the horizontal and beingprovided at its lower part with a port, and a pipe connected thereto forcarrying away water leaking from said jet.

11. A fuel economizer for an engine, capable of feeding said engine withsubstantially an even proportion of detonating gas obtained bydecomposition in a gaseous W of an even proportion of water sucked in asuitable tank and atomized in said gaseous flow whatever be the rate ofdelivery of said flow, comprising in combination an atomizer and a highvoltage spark gap, said atomizer comprising a tube of insulatingmaterial through which the gaseous current flows and a small diameterjet connected to said tank and radially disposed in said tube With itsorifice on the axis of said tube; said high voltage spark gap beingarranged down-stream with respect to said atomizer and comprising, atleast one high voltage source, a rotating electrode made of a metalairscrew freely rotating around a shaft coaxial with said tube, and atleast one stationary electrode secured on the inner wall of said tube,in front of said air-screw and radially spaced from the ends of theblades of said air-screw a distance at most equal to the sparkingdistance corresponding to the voltage of said source, and electricconnections for connecting said both electrodes to said high voltagesource, whereby the gaseous ow causes sucking and atomizing of saidwater as a function of its speed, rotation of said air-screw at a speedsubstantially in direct ratio with its own, and the discharge betweensaid electrodes of a number of sparks adjusting itself to the rate ofdelivery of said flow.

RAYMOND H. P. DEVAUX.

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